Christmas: A Candid HistoryUniversity of California Press, 10 okt 2007 - 196 pagina's Written for everyone who loves and is simultaneously driven crazy by the holiday season, Christmas: A Candid History provides an enlightening, entertaining perspective on how the annual Yuletide celebration got to be what it is today. In a fascinating, concise tour through history, the book tells the story of Christmas—from its pre-Christian roots, through the birth of Jesus, to the holiday's spread across Europe into the Americas and beyond, and to its mind-boggling transformation through modern consumerism. Packed with intriguing stories, based on research into myriad sources, full of insights, the book explores the historical origins of traditions including Santa, the reindeer, gift giving, the Christmas tree, Christmas songs and movies, and more. The book also offers some provocative ideas for reclaiming the joy and meaning of this beloved, yet often frustrating, season amid the pressures of our fast-paced consumer culture. DID YOU KNOW For three centuries Christians did not celebrate Christmas? Puritans in England and New England made Christmas observances illegal? St. Nicholas is an elf in the famous poem "The Night Before Christmas"? President Franklin Roosevelt changed the dateof Thanksgiving in order to lengthen the Christmas shopping season? Coca-Cola helped fashion Santa Claus's look in an advertising campaign? |
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American Christmas Bari Barnett became biblical bibliography birth of Jesus birthday bishop cards Catholic celebrate Christmas century Christ child Christmas Carol Christmas Day Christmas movies Christmas music Christmas observances Christmas season Christmas story Christmas traditions Christmas tree church colonies commercial cultural customs December 25 decorations Dickens Dickens’s Dutch early Christians eastern Encyclopedia of Christmas England English Epiphany Europe evergreen examples feast focus German gift giving gospel of Matthew greenery Gregorian calendar Gulevich Haddon Sundblom historian history of Christmas holiday included influence Irving’s January Julian calendar Matthew and Luke McKibben midwinter festivities narratives nativity story Nicholas of Myra Night Before Christmas person Pintard poem popular pre-Christian Puritans reindeer religion religious Roman Saint Nicholas Santa Claus Saturnalia scholars Sinter Klaas snowball song spiritual Sundblom symbol Thanksgiving United Victoria Washington Irving White Christmas winter festivals wrapping paper wrote Year’s York Yule